Prost! Beer sales hop up for first gain in 8 years
New figures released Friday by federal statistics office Destatis are numbers breweries can drink to, as German beer consumption saw its first year-on-year rise since 2006.
More than 95.6 million hectolitres of German beer was consumed in 2014: A total of 1 million hectolitres – enough to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools – more than the previous year.
A hectolitre is a unit of 100 litres.
It's the first time in eight years that beer consumption has seen a year-on-year gain, Destatis reported.
Destatis spokesperson Pamela Martin noted that there was something that held the two years together: Football.
"When the weather was good in a year and the Germans do well in international play, then the brewers can almost certainly rejoice," Martin told the Local.
She also noted that 2010, where beer sales fell as the German national football team placed third in South Africa, was an exception. "We don't know what happened then."
Already in June, when the 2014 World Cup in Brazil kicked off, Destatis noticed a 14.7 percent rise in beer consumption over June 2013. Germans went on to win the World Cup, accounting for strong beer sales into July.
In 2006, when Germany played host to the World Cup, 106.8 million hectolitres were sold, accounting for a 1.4 percent rise in beer sales over the previous years.
Since then, beer consumption has been in steady decline, until now.
Beer-mixes also saw a large rise in popularity as beer mixed with lemon-lime soft drinks, colas and fruit juices accounted for 4.3 percent of all beer drunk. In 2013, it only accounted for 1.9 percent of all beer sales.
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More than 95.6 million hectolitres of German beer was consumed in 2014: A total of 1 million hectolitres – enough to fill 40 Olympic-sized swimming pools – more than the previous year.
A hectolitre is a unit of 100 litres.
It's the first time in eight years that beer consumption has seen a year-on-year gain, Destatis reported.
Destatis spokesperson Pamela Martin noted that there was something that held the two years together: Football.
"When the weather was good in a year and the Germans do well in international play, then the brewers can almost certainly rejoice," Martin told the Local.
She also noted that 2010, where beer sales fell as the German national football team placed third in South Africa, was an exception. "We don't know what happened then."
Already in June, when the 2014 World Cup in Brazil kicked off, Destatis noticed a 14.7 percent rise in beer consumption over June 2013. Germans went on to win the World Cup, accounting for strong beer sales into July.
In 2006, when Germany played host to the World Cup, 106.8 million hectolitres were sold, accounting for a 1.4 percent rise in beer sales over the previous years.
Since then, beer consumption has been in steady decline, until now.
Beer-mixes also saw a large rise in popularity as beer mixed with lemon-lime soft drinks, colas and fruit juices accounted for 4.3 percent of all beer drunk. In 2013, it only accounted for 1.9 percent of all beer sales.
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